Prospects Report: Joba gets whole new set of rules

It was a tough week-plus to be a Yankee fan. First, you are coming off a female-dog slapping from the Rays, then get swept by the Mets at home and, finally, have to watch the Red Sox flex their muscles on consecutive days with Jon Lester, Justin Masterson and Bartolo Colon.

The fact sophomore Lester throws a no-hitter, a rookie Masterson spot starts a gem and Colon looks as good as new -- all just salt in the wound. No wonder it became time to alter the Joba Rules.

As if things were already perfect enough for the Red Sox and bad for the Yankees: The Rays waived young pitching right in their face. They have it coming out of their ears with Scott Kazmir, James Shields, Matt Garza, Edwin Jackson, Andy Sonnanstine and the pro debut of 2007 No. 1 overall pick David Price on Thursday night at Class A Vero Beach. Jake McGee and Wade Davis aren't too shabby in Double-A either.

Then the Mets, who stink like the Yankees, at least had Johan Santana to boast last weekend. You know, that pitcher they didn't want to trade Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy for. How is that working out right now?

Well, here comes big ol' Joba Chamberlain like the Lone Yankee riding his high horse, Silver. Poor horse.

Chamberlain stretched out for 35 pitches Wednesday night and will be joining the Yankees rotation by mid-June. He might even be able to make abbreviated starts before then, if the Yankees choose to keep him around as opposed to making a five- to six-inning start or two back in the minors.

Here is how we could see it shaking out:

• Joba next works a 40-plus pitch relief appearance this weekend.
• Stretches out to around 55 pitches of long relief -- perhaps on Kennedy's turn Tuesday, May 27.
• Around June 1, he works a 65-pitch, four- to five-inning stint of relief.
• The days then need to be further apart with more rest in between. So, the weekend of June 6-8 vs. Kansas City, he could make a 75-80 pitch relief outing or an abbreviated start.
• If he doesn't start that weekend, the June 10-12 series at Oakland could be his first start and he would be allowed to approach 100 pitches, if he is dealing that day.

The above timetable is based on the fact the Yankees cannot afford to send him to the minors to stretch out. They need his arm getting outs in the majors right now.

If he is sent to the minors, he will need to stay there at least 10 days on his option. That equates to two starts with regular four days of rest. That would put him out of play as a reliever for two Fantasy weeks at the beginning of June.

Regardless, by mid-June, Joba should be full-go as a Fantasy starter. Well, as close to full-go as a 100-pitch arm can be.

Now, what can you expect? He should already be owned in all Rotisserie leagues and Head-to-Head formats with reserves -- or ones that use non-closer relievers. As a starter for the soon-to-heat-up Yankees, he will wind up being a solid start in all leagues and the No. 1 rookie pitcher in Fantasy.

Better than Johnny Cueto. Better than Jair Jurrjens.

Owned already in 85 percent of CBSSports.com leagues, you best hope so. His 100 mph stuff won't translate over six innings-plus and make him a Justin Verlander rookie, but even if he needs to tick it down to mid-to-low 90s, his filthy slider should still give hitters fits.

There could be some cautious five-inning outings where he gets a no-decision, so consider him an 8- to 9-game winner with a mid-3.00 ERA and a strikeout per inning. That is about as productive, Fantasy-wise, as Roger Clemens was in 2006.

Kennedy will lose his rotation spot in the coming weeks, but don't give up on him entirely in AL-only play. After a few starts in Triple-A, he can once again position himself to be an impact pitcher down the stretch. If you are chosing between stashing Kennedy or Hughes, though, the choice still has to be the higher-ceiling guy, Hughes.

We always say the end of months are organizational evaluation checkpoints -- especially June 1. The Yankees make the transition with Joba and also move 25-year-old Daniel McCutchen (4-3, 2.52 ERA, .209 BAA in Double-A) to Triple-A and 23-year-old Mark Melancon (1-0, 2.84 ERA, .265 BAA) to Double-A at the same time. Consider McCutchen and Melancon long shots to help this year, but they could be rotation options in 2009.

The Yankees will say June was their plan all along on Joba. No reason to admit their slump, a Subway Sweep AND the Red Sox recent fortunes forced their hand -- or to rip their own young starters for not getting the job done. But we know better.

Clemens is out of play as the Yankees kick-starter this time around, so make room -- a lot of it -- for Joba.

Prospect watch

Every Thursday, we break down all the minor leaguers who are owned in at least 1 percent of our Fantasy leagues, both hitters and pitchers. This will be your essential guide to unearthing the elite prospects before they hit the big time.

We now have minor league stats updated daily on our player profiles. The stats listed here are those with the players' current level and are through games of Wednesday, May 21.

Rookie watch

Top AL rookies to date

1. OF Jacoby Ellsbury, BOS -- We said the power will come in the majors, and it has.
2. OF David Murphy, TEX -- He is not quite this good, but he deserves to be starting in all AL-only leagues.
3. SP Greg Smith, OAK -- He sure is making Billy Beane look smart from the Dan Haren deal.
4. SP Armando Galarraga, DET -- Like we said, he is just too hot to remove from the rotation.
5. SP Aaron Laffey, CLE -- Doesn't deserve to be removed from the rotation when Jake Westbrook returns.

• Honorable mentions: 3B Evan Longoria, TB; OF Ryan Sweeney, OAK; SP Glen Perkins, MIN; SP Nick Blackburn, MIN; RP Jesse Carlson, TOR; RP Joba Chamberlain, NYY; SP Luke Hochevar, KC; RP Masahide Kobayashi, CLE; SP Justin Masterson, BOS; 1B Daric Barton, OAK; OF Matt Joyce, DET; OF Wladimir Balentien, SEA; 1B Michael Aubrey, CLE.

Top NL rookies to date

1. C Geovany Soto, CHC -- Catcher leads all rookies with 34 RBI. He is a monster.
2. SP Jair Jurrjens, ATL -- Leads all rookies with five victories; he could win 15 games.
3. 1B Joey Votto, CIN -- Streaky slugger can go on tears. Tied with Soto for most HR as a rookie (nine).
4. 3B Blake DeWitt, LAD -- He has done more than merely hold off Nomar Garciaparra and Andy LaRoche.
5. OF Kosuke Fukudome, CHC -- Power is not there yet, but he is an on-base hog and scores a lot of runs.

• Honorable mentions: SP Johnny Cueto, CIN; SP John Lannan, WAS; RP Manny Acosta, ATL; SP Hiroki Kuroda, LAD; RP Max Scherzer, ARI; SP Jorge Campillo, ATL; RP Kyle McClellan, STL; SP Greg Reynolds, COL; RP Wesley Wright, HOU; OF John Bowker, SF.

Newbie needs

Mark Donovan, Trumbull, Conn.: I have Lance Berkman, Corey Hart, Matt Kemp, Nate McLouth, Willy Taveras and Jeremy Hermida. I'm tops in runs, homers and RBI and in a battle to stay in fourth in steals and fifth in average, would you drop anyone for Jay Bruce when he gets here? I was thinking Hermida.

Emack: Hermida is a tough drop, especially since he is talented and more experienced than Bruce. We would recommend trying to package Taveras and Hart for a top outfielder. McLouth is a sell-high candidate, but even when he slows down at the plate, he should still get you steals.

Paul Espinosa, Charles Town, West Va.: In my NL-only league draft, I was able to scoop up Colby Rasmus ($.90), Cameron Maybin (.30), Clayton Kershaw (.10), Matt Antonelli (.10) and Steve Pearce (.10). While that sounds good, if they aren't called up by June 15, they go back into the free-agent pool. Needless to say, I'm not feeling as well as I did on Draft Day about some of my bargains. Emack, aside from Kershaw, does it look like I'm going to get to keep anyone?

Emack: No. Rasmus, Maybin, Antonelli and Pearce are surprisingly off to terrible starts in the minors, unfortunately. Maybin had a chance, but he has struggled in long stretches and the Marlins are doing just fine without him.

Brian Joyce, Elmwood Park, Illinois: Why isn't Dexter Fowler part of your Prospects Watch? He is putting up decent stats in Double-A. Where is the love? Is he not deserving of print?

Emack: Our weekly disclaimer question: Our Prospects Watch focuses on players owned in at least 1 percent of CBSSports.com's leagues. The 22-year-old Rockies prospect (.288 average, five homers, 23 RBI, 34 runs, 11 steals, .378 OBP and .465 SLUG in Double-A) is not quite worthy of being in that group.

Brian Cohen: Jesus Guzman 3B -- Oakland, hitting .355 with eight homers, and 45 RBI.

Emack: He has cooled off in May (.222) and is not considered a top prospect. He did hit .301 with 25 homers in the hitter-friendly California League last season, though.

Anonymous: Please add Trevor Cahill to the CBSSports.com database. Would he be worth taking a flyer on in keeper leagues? Baseball America has been pretty high on the kid.

Emack: Unlike Guzman, and Fowler to a lesser extent, Cahill should be owned in at least 1 percent of CBSSports.com leagues now that he is added.

Kevin Nash, Bel air, Md.: I currently have Cameron Maybin on my roster and have had him since Draft Day. I just picked up Carlos Gonzalez and was wondering who you think will hit the major-league scene first this year?

Emack: Gonzalez was one of the "June 1 guarantees" last week. We're less certain to see him before that date now, but he is far more ready for a call-up than Maybin.

Kevin: Please add Madison Bumgarner to your player database.

Emack: The 19-year-old is a solid Giants starting pitching prospect in low Class A, but he won't be a candidate to arrive in the next year or two at this point.

You can e-mail us your Fantasy Baseball prospect questions to DMFantasyBaseball@cbs.com. Be sure to put Attn: Prospects in the subject field. Please include your full name, hometown and state. Be aware, due to the large volume of submissions received, we cannot guarantee personal responses to all questions.